“My heart was ready. I trained my mind. I knew my body would
follow,” Baker said at the
Bellator 43 post-fight news conference. “I was 100 percent
confident. I accomplished game plan. My coach, Thomas
Denny, put together a superb game plan, and I executed it.”

Baker punished the UFC veteran with knees in the clinch before
ending Riggs’ night with a left hand at 3:53 of the second
round.

Following his victory, Baker took center cage once again, but this
time there would be no fight. The middleweight instead dropped to a
knee and proposed marriage to his girlfriend, Megan Vargas, who
accepted in front of the crowd at the First Council Casino in
Newkirk, Okla.

“My heart is just doing back-flips right now,” said Baker. “I can’t
express how much this girl cares for me and how much I love her. I
want to give world to her. That cage is hers as much as it is mine.
We’re going to conquer it together. There are a lot of good things
in store for us.”

With the victory, Baker moves one step closer to a shot at
Bellator’s middleweight title. The California-based “Beast” has
knocked on that door before, as he fought his way to the finals of
the promotion’s Season 2 tournament, ultimately losing to Alexander
Shlemenko in their June 2010 final.

Baker could receive a chance to avenge that loss, as Shlemenko may
also find his way into the upcoming tournament if he can navigate
Brett
Cooper at Bellator 44 on May 14. Bellator Season 5 is expected
to kick off Sept. 17 at Bellator 49. Until then, Baker will have to
concentrate on other things, like setting a date for his
wedding.